St Andrew's Home for Girls, Southsea, Hampshire
The St Andrew's Home for Girls was founded in 1880 by Sister Emma, the Head Deaconess of the Winchester Diocese. The establishment was located at 103-105 Victoria Road North and was linked with the St Andrew's Deaconess Home — a training home for women wishing to pursue practical work in Anglican parishes. The Home for Girls could accommodate sixty girls up to the age of 12, who were had been 'rescued from immorality, or immoral surroundings'. An entrance fee required of £1 10s. for those admitted from the Diocese of Winchester, or £2 10s. in other cases.
By 1897, the home had a subsidiary branch at East Turret House, Spring Vale, near Ryde, IsleOfWight. By 1900, this was located at Harrage Park, Romsey.
In 1908, the running of the home was transferred to the Waifs and Strays Society. Two years later, the home relocated to new premises at 35 St Simon's Road, Southsea, and was officially opened on March 7th, 1911, by the Bishop of Southampton. The three-storey property was described as bright and airy, with cheerful-looking dormitories, a long dining-hall, laundry, kitchen, and a fine piece of ground for games. The home now provided accommodation for 25 girls removed from immoral circumstance.
Pictures of the home's residents show that they were actively involved with the local Girl Guides and Brownies.
In July, 1926, the home received a visit from Earl and Countess Jellicoe.
The home closed in 1930 and the girls then resident were distributed amongst other Society homes.
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by surname.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by date of birth.
- The Children's Society Records and Archive Centre is at Unit 25, Springfield House, 5 Tyssen Street, London E8 2LZ (email: archives@childrenssociety.org.uk). Files for children admitted to its homes after September 1926 were microfilmed in the 1980s and the originals destroyed. Some post-1926 files had already been damaged or destroyed during a flood. The Society's Post-Adoption and Care Service provides access to records, information, advice, birth record counselling, tracing and intermediary service for people who were in care or adopted through the Society.
- The Society has produced detailed catalogues of its records relating to disabled children, and of records relating to the Children's Union (a fundraising body mostly supported from the contributions of children).
Bibliography
- Bowder, Bill Children First: a photo-history of England's children in need (1980, Mowbray)
- Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society [Rudolfe, Edward de Montjoie] The First Forty Years: a chronicle of the Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society 1881-1920 (1922, Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society / S.P.C.K.)
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
- Morris, Lester The Violets Are Mine: Tales of an Unwanted Orphan (2011, Xlibris Corporation) — memoir of a boy growing up in several of the Society's homes (Princes Risborough, Ashdon, Hunstanton, Leicester) in the 1940s and 50s.
- Rudolf, Mildred de Montjoie Everybody's Children: the story of the Church of England Children's Society 1921-1948 (1950, OUP)
- Stroud, John Thirteen Penny Stamps: the story of the Church of England Children's Society (Waifs and Strays) from 1881 to the 1970s (1971, Hodder and Stoughton)
Links
- Hidden Lives Revealed — the story of the children who were in the care of The Children's Society in late Victorian and early 20th Century Britain.
- The Children's Society
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.